Nerve Compression Signs

We've all heard of the "pinched nerve" but what is pinching it, how do you know that's what it is and how do you fix it.   Many patients have minimal MRI findings and lots of pain......why?

Nerve compression (pinched nerve) usually presents with patient complaints of numbness, tingling, pain which may be accompanied by weakness in an arm or leg.   The patient is referred to a neurosurgeon who says no surgery will work and  then to pain management for injections.  Eventually, they come into my office with tons of questions.

It is a common misconception among the general public that the nerve is always technically pinched.  In fact, many times, there is no direct pressure on the nerve but the disc next to the nerve is inflamed and this causes a chemical irritation to the nerve that mimics direct pressure.   I tell patients this is like standing next to a man who is constantly spitting on you, you would become irritated too. Unfortunately, your nerve doesn't have the option of walking away from the spitter!

Many times this chemical irritation is much harder to correct than direct compression.  Surgery doesn't usually help in this scenario and injections only work half the time.  I have found that while difficult to work with, a treatment plan than includes chiropractic, non-surgical decompression and acupuncture in addition to traditional medical treatments has a much higher success rate in resolving the situation.

The important thing to remember is that this problem is real no matter if it is from direct compression or from inflammation and you must deal with it before it becomes worse.